Absence of Light
by ennyousai
Summary: AU. ShinRa rules the known worlds no matter how small and insignificant, but there are still those who resist. Of course, the hardest battles are never those fought with steel, but the ones fought with the heart.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Poetic belief said that a world wept when it fell to a conqueror, its land and seas and forced to serve the needs of foreign invaders while its own people were enslaved and doomed to a life of bondage. Poetic belief said that when a world fell one could hear its cries of anguish if you only listened hard enough and that they would never fade until the earth drank the blood of its oppressors. But when the ShinRa warships glided through the blackness of space to descend on Zhan, it was doubtful that the planet cried out in sorrow. Its tears had already been spent in ages past and no longer had the strength to grieve for its future.

Zhan was not a world that anyone would consider beautiful. It was a planet that never knew the touch of sunlight, only the heavy blackness of full night that faded into days of gloomy grey half-light. The absence of the touch of the sun's rays made Zhan a bleak world that always seemed to be shrouded in an aura of hopelessness. It was a world filled with exhaustion and despair.

The capital city of Maruth had been in the grip of civil war for centuries and had never been able to recover from the devastation of each successive conflict. By the time of the invasion it had become little more than a massive slum sprawling across most of the Garat continent. Even so, it was still the center of whatever form of government the planet could claim and as such was the logical place for ShinRa to have begun their invasion. ShinRa's SOLDIER army had established control over the city quickly, killing the Council that had struggled to keep Zhan from descending completely into anarchy since the end of the last war and mercilessly slaughtering any resistance they encountered although there was little enough of that.

The people of Maruth put up nothing more than a final despairing struggle with no strength behind it. They no longer seemed to care about their fate, staring at the SOLDIERs with blank, emotionless eyes as the invading army moved through the streets between the shells of dilapidated buildings to solidify ShinRa's newly established power.

However, there were still those few who had the will to resist even when it became apparent that there was no hope for Zhan. They were the ones who did not want to see Zhan fall from being a free world to becoming another vassal state of ShinRa. No matter how miserable Zhan was, a planet that was almost constantly in the grip of bloody power struggles and civil war – it had always been free. There were those among its people who had not been so worn down by living in a world that knew no peace that they would be willing to watch passively as their world was enslaved.

They slipped silently into Murath and hid in the shadows of the city's skeletal buildings, striking out against the SOLDIERs as they passed by before vanishing back into their hiding places. Their knowledge of the labyrinthine layout of the city gained some victories, but in the end the last of Zhan's defenders were either slaughtered or forced back into hiding. They had not been able to match the specially engineered SOLDIERs of ShinRa.

Vincent Valentine had wanted to fight. He had wanted to stand against the invaders and would have been willing to give up his life in one final attempt to save Zhan. Broken and desolate as it was, Vincent believed that it was better to remain so and be free rather than forced into the iron chains of the ShinRa empire. He had wanted to fight against enslavement and oppression no matter how futile the attempt might prove, desperate to at least do _something_ to try and save his world… but he couldn't. Because of the child.

Lucrecia had died when their son was only five years old, some three months before the ShinRa warships had appeared in the sky. If she had lived maybe he would have left the mountains to join the struggle at Maruth. But with her gone he could not bring himself to leave their child, his only source of happiness in the world. And if he were to die Sephiroth would have no one to take care of him, no one at all…. No, Vincent couldn't leave him.

So he had stayed secluded in the mountains and watched his homeland be conquered with sorrow and bitterness in his heart, vowing that one day ShinRa would be cast out broken and defeated and driven back to their own world. It was with that grim hope in his heart that he began to train his son in the warrior arts. He wasn't surprised to discover that Sephiroth was a natural, showing a strong affinity for the sword even at his young age. He was descended from a warrior bloodline, after all. Vincent took some measure of pride in knowing that one day his child would be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, but it was a pride tinged with sadness. If only Sephiroth could have been born into a world free of violence and pain, he would have not to learn the way of the sword as a little boy…

But some things could not be helped. Vincent would never let his son grow up to become accepting and passive in the face of ShinRa aggression and dominance.

He would grow up to fight.

* * *

To be scouted as a candidate for admittance into the Black Guards was one of the greatest honors any member of SOLDIER could receive, one that was exceeded only by being deemed worthy of actual acceptance. The Black Guards were the highest ranking force in ShinRa who answered directly to the Emperor and were sent only on the most delicate and dangerous missions that not even the SOLIDERs could be entrusted with and to be accepted as one was to achieve the highest pinnacle of ShinRa military achivement.

Competition to be seen as eligible was fierce – SOLDIERs were already considered elite, the very best of ShinRa's military and proving their superiority over each other was something that more often than not ended in violence. More than one SOLDIER had been killed by a comrade in the drive to be seen as having Black Guard potential – unfortunate, perhaps, but ShinRa's upper level Generals were rumored to comment that at least it ensured that the weaker SOLDIERs were removed and that it kept that particular division in top form at all times.

Cloud Strife was a somewhat different case.

His mother had been a poor woman. She had earned her living in the only she could, selling her body to whoever was willing to pay for a night of pleasure, and one night she had gotten a child in return. When her son was born five years before ShinRa launched its invasion of Zhan she had sold him into Midgar's human market, unwilling to take on the added burden of caring for a child. She promptly forgot about him in the face of the more immediate need to ensure her own survival.

The child had been sold to one Professor Hojo, head of medical research for ShinRa's military. He had been more than willing to receive a new test subject for his experimentation and the whore's child – named Cloud by one of the kinder lab technicians – grew up thinking that the constant tests and experiments being performed on him were a normal part of his existence.

Cloud became indifferent to them. It was what he knew and understood. To him they were just as normal as any other kind of medical examination, uncomfortable, inconvenient, maybe painful at times – but something that had to be done. Besides, other than those times when Hojo kept him in the lab for days on end Cloud never had any complaints about his childhood. He was always looked after, given clothes and a bed and enough food - and the finest military education ShinRa had to offer.

It had been obvious to Hojo after only a short period of time that Cloud was special, that all of the mako treatments and enhancements were amplifying already strong natural talents that would be an asset in battle. The higher ranking officers promptly began to personally train Cloud in military tactics and combat skills. By the time he was eighteen he was easily equal to if not better than any of the SOLDIERs and was inducted directly into the Black Guards. If there were any murmurs about someone so young being placed directly in ShinRa's most elite force, they were quickly silenced when they saw Cloud's prowess in battle. The other members of the Guard came to view him with a mixture of reverence and fear and instinctively looked to him for guidance. By the time he turned twenty he had become the leader of the Black Guards and answered only to the Emperor of ShinRa.

It happened that some fifteen years after Zhan had fallen to the empire's power rumors began to circulate, whispers that some new form of resistance had taken root on the desolate world and that several attacks had been carried out against ShinRa's base in city of Maruth. The Black Guards did not pay much attention to them – anything serious on _that _planet could probably be easily dealt with by the SOLDIERS – and only took a passing interest in the reports before forgetting about them.

But it wouldn't be long before they were forced to think about Zhan whether they wanted to or not.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The start of the rainy season on Zhan had always marked the beginning of the darkest time of the year when even the gray half-light that passed for day was muffled by the ever present black thunderclouds. Sephiroth had always thought of it as a night that lasted the better part of four months. When he woke up he could barely tell if it was day or night, and yet even the days felt like part of a dream state when they were illuminated only by electricity's artificial glow. It made him feel like he was always sleepwalking even when he was awake.

On impulse Sephiroth reached out and flipped the light switch to plunge the room into complete darkness. He had never minded the darkness, not really. In some ways he found it easier to focus his thoughts when there was less for him to see and be distracted by. The complete absence of sensation was calming.

He moved silently to the window and stared off into the distance. Brilliant tendrils of lightning flickered over the peaks of the mountains that enclosed their hiding place, the hidden valley that acted as the sanctuary for the ones who had come together with the goal of one day reclaiming their world. Sephiroth and the others had been here for one year now. He felt that they would have to move again soon; the ShinRa governor's army was penetrating too deep into the Enak mountain range for them to be safe much longer. Maybe they would have to move off the continent, set up base on one of the larger islands off the coast.

It had been fifteen years since ShinRa had seized control of Maruth and since that time they had spread across the rest of the planet's surface like a malevolent fungus. The military had established its presence in all of the areas of human habitation from the secondary cities of Init and Karam to the outlying provinces where only a few rural settlements existed. Not that there were all that many of those left, however – the governor had given orders that the population be rounded up and relocated to the cities. It was easier to keep them under control that way It had been rumored that the government had even started to insert implants under people's skin that would serve as identifying marks, making it impossible to hide from ShinRa's all-seeing eyes.

They had also started stealing Zhan's children. The official line was that they were being sent to the ShinRa home world of Gaia to receive military training and become part of the Empire's army. Sephiroth supposed that there was some truth to that. He was sure that the children ShinRa stole from the worlds it conquered were put to some kind of use by the military although he doubted that were ever allowed any kind of position beyond that of canon fodder. It was more likely that they were being used for research purposes. He'd heard that the military was fond of using human experimentation to determine how to increase the abilities of their soldiers and what better guinea pigs than the children of conquered worlds? They were, after all, easily expendable.

Maybe Sephiroth would have ended up in a lab somewhere on Gaia if his father hadn't taken him into hiding just after the invasion forces had landed.

He absently rubbed his arms in an attempt to ward off the sudden chill that he felt at that thought. He had been raised to believe that it was better to be dead than held in thrall to ShinRa. As a child some small, hidden part of him had always wondered if that wasn't an abnormally fatalistic philosophy to live by, but as he grew up and came to understand how the Empire treated the people of the worlds it conquered he embraced it with the same passion his father did. All of the ones who had joined them followed it as well. Live in freedom or die: That was the creed of their resistance.

"Why d'you always sit in the dark?"

Sephiroth didn't flinch when the voice broke into the absolute stillness of the room. "Why are you always so loud? I could hear your footsteps from a mile away."

He allowed a half smile to steal across his lips as he heard the small grunt of exasperation that his words had caused. Sephiroth knew perfectly well that Zack could be quiet when he wanted to be, but that didn't mean that the white-haired man didn't grab whatever opportunities he could to jibe ever so slightly at his friend.

"Yeah, yeah." Zack grumbled a bit as he flicked on the lights, both men blinking a bit against the sudden brightness as Zack moved to Sephiroth's side and stared out at the mountains. The white haired man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Zack was tense, with lines of worry etched across his face and an unhappy frown on his face.

"What is it?"

Zack ran a hand through his unruly brown hair before answering. "We're not going to be safe here for much longer." His voice was soft and anxious as he nodded at the encircling peaks. "The scout reports just came in and it turns out that ShinRa's moved much closer to us than we originally thought." He handed Sephiroth a heavily marked map before turning back to the window, his face unhappy and strained.

Sephiroth stiffened ever so slightly as he stared down at the piece of paper. It wasn't unexpected news by any means, but if they had less time than they thought….

"How long?"

Zack sighed and Sephiroth heard the weariness in his voice. "One week. Maybe two at the most, if we're lucky."

Sephiroth nodded slowly as he refolded the map, his mind already racing ahead thinking of what had to be done. They'd have to move out of the mountains as fast as possible and relocate to a new location that would be at least somewhat secure while they determined their next move. Then they would need to find a more permanent place to re-establish headquarters. That meant a full-scale evacuation, never an easy thing to do even under ideal circumstances. To have to do one during the rainy season when they were pushed for time, not to mention having to carry it out without being detected by ShinRa …. Sephiroth rubbed his forehead in exasperation. It was enough to give him a headache.

"Unfortunate, but I suppose we shouldn't be all that surprised." Sephiroth gave the mountains one last long look before turning away. "Come on. Valentine will be calling a meeting about this any time now and we might as well get there early."

Zack followed his taller friend down the dimly lit corridor, a slight frown etched onto his face. _Valentine_. Zack didn't think that Sephiroth had ever called the chief commander of the resistance "Father" in the last four years, not since Sephiroth had turned sixteen and started to participate in field missions. It almost seemed like the instant Sephiroth had been thrust into actual combat situations Vincent Valentine had stopped viewing Sephiroth as his child. Zack didn't know if it was because the older man didn't want to cultivate a close relationship with a child who could be captured or killed by ShinRa or because he did not want Sephiroth to always be treated as "the commander's son", but in any case Zack had watched the two of them grow further and further apart over the past four years. He had always worried about that in the back of his mind – Sephiroth had always been a loner, had always been distant from everyone else and had never really made any friends other than Zack himself. Zack couldn't help but feel some resentment at Vincent from distancing himself. Sephiroth seemed lonely, and he didn't even have a father to turn to….

By the time they arrived at the main briefing room at the heart of the building most of the other field commanders were already assembled. News of ShinRa's proximity had spread like wildfire as soon as the scouts had returned and the tension in the room was palpable. Some of the assembled were talking quietly and others were just staring vacantly into space, but the worry and agitation in everyone's eyes was the same. Sephiroth and Zack threaded their way through the crowd and sat down at the large oval table in the center of the room. Zack turned to the taller man and was just about to say something when the room fell abruptly silent. There was a rustle of clothing as all of the others present seated themselves and turned to face the head of the table where Vincent Valentine stood.

In the first months after Zhan had fallen to ShinRa Vincent had stayed in hiding with his son waiting for the initial shock of conquest to wear off. It was only after ShinRa had become relatively secure in its control of the planet that he started to form any plan of action, drifting among the various mountain villages and talking, quietly revealing hints of his desire to take action against their oppressors. Resentment and hatred of ShinRa ran strong among the people far from the main cities and there were plenty among them who were willing to follow him. Those who did not turned a blind eye and kept their silence.

Little by little, more people had joined Vincent's cause and by the time two years had passed they were a group sizable enough to inflict some damage. They were nowhere near large enough to ever confront ShinRa directly, of course, but they were able to use terrorist strategies quite effectively, striking quickly and unexpectedly and withdrawing before they could be caught. The strategy was to strike were they could and take whatever opportunities to fight that they could find, hoping that one day ShinRa would give them the opening they needed to inflict real damage on the Imperial presence's infrastructure.

Vincent stood at the center of the group, the figure around which everything evolved. The fighters who had joined themselves to his cause viewed him with a respect that almost bordered on reverence at times. He had united them with his vision of one day seeing Zhan a free world once again, and the strength of that vision was enough to draw others to his side.

It had certainly pulled him in, Zack mused. He had left his home village when he was eighteen to follow Vincent, desperate to rid his planet of the presence of ShinRa. Two years later and Zack's conviction burned brighter than ever, fueled by Vincent's quiet dedication to their cause.

The dark haired man waited a moment, his strange reddish eyes looking calmly at the gathered fighters before beginning to speak. His voice was quiet and smooth, the kind of voice that commanded the attention of everyone in the room.

"As I'm sure most of you have already heard, the latest report brought in by ours scout show that the location of the ShinRa military is much closer to our headquarters than we had previously thought." He waited for the soft murmur of assent that rippled around the table to fade into silence before continuing. "It's not certain how long it will be before they reach this valley, but they could be here by the time a week has passed. We have very little time in which to act. We have to be fully evacuated in three days and en route to the Zhirak steppe. We'll be staying there briefly before moving on to a permanent location."

There were nods of assent from around the table. Vincent began to unroll a map detailing their position in the mountains and the route they would have to take to reach the steppe. Sephiroth leaned in closer to look, nodding to himself as he saw the location where they would set up temporary camp.

Zhirak was well-protected, not as secure as mountains, perhaps, but the best that they could do on such short notice. Its southern, western, and northern boundaries were marked with sheer rock cliffs and the Eglath River traveled along its southern edge, fast and dangerous. They couldn't stay there long, but that wasn't necessary. All they needed was a temporary camp to catch their breath and wait for the members of the resistance who were away from their current headquarters to reach them.

Sephiroth listened closely as Vincent continued to explain the details of the evacuation, mentally listing each point he needed to remember to take care of. The others were in a similar state of concentration, silent except for the occasional murmur of acknowledgement or a question posed to Vincent followed by his response. By the time the chief commander dismissed them all with a weary wave of the hand the digi-clock on the wall said that three hours had gone by. Sephiroth rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily as he turned to follow Zack out, only to be stopped by a soft command.

"Sephiroth. Wait."

The white haired man paused in the doorway after a quick, "I'll see you later," to Zack, then turned slowly around.

"Yes… sir?"

Vincent stared at him for a long moment before a humorless smile curled his lips and he broke into a bitter laugh. As it faded into silence Sephiroth saw a deep sadness shining up out of the depths of the older man's eyes,

"It hurts to hear you address me like that, you know. Every time."

Sephiroth focused his gaze on the table, having no idea what to say to that. He and his father weren't close, hadn't been close in years. When he had been younger and Vincent had taught him how to wield weaponry, the dark haired man had been a constant presence in his life. Vincent had looked at him as his little boy with pride and affection in his eyes and had always been there to pick him up when he fell, to hug him before going to bed and tell him bedtime stories. But he had felt all of that had started to fade once Vincent decided that that silver-haired boy was ready to start putting all of his training to good use. Sephiroth had still felt the pride in Vincent's gaze, but the affection had been buried behind a wall of something that Sephiroth had always thought looked like a kind of grim satisfaction. As if the father took pride in knowing that the son he had trained had become such an efficient weapon for terrorism.

It wasn't that Sephiroth didn't believe in their cause; he felt an overwhelming satisfaction swell up within him every time they lashed out against ShinRa. He was as dedicated to his father's vision of a free Zhan as everyone else who had joined the resistance; it was just that sometimes….

He had Zack, of course. His best friend that he knew would always be there for him, the only person who had ever thought it was worth trying to get to know the commander's white haired son who didn't seem to know how to interact with other people and spent his time either studying or practicing his martial arts. He would always be immensely grateful to Zack for extending the hand of friendship to him, but at the same time….

He missed his father. He wanted to feel that he was taken _care _of, that there was someone close to him who wanted to protect him and make sure that he was happy and safe and never afraid or lonely. Sephiroth had had that as a child, and he missed it more than anything.

Something he kept hidden deep inside always ached when he was in situations like these, alone with his own father and having no idea how to break the silence.

He heard the older man's sigh. "Sephiroth…"

Sephiroth lifted his gaze to meet Vincent's, deep emerald green staring into murky red. They remained frozen in place for a moment that seemed to stretch into hours before the older man sighed and looked away.

"You can go, Sephiroth. Just…"

Sephiroth stopped in the doorway, not looking back out of the fear that his emotions would be plain to see. "Yes?"

"Be careful. It's going to be dangerous on the way to Zhirak."

Sephiroth laughed softly, sadly when he answered. "You know I will. I learned from the best."

He hurried down the corridor and away, his steps maybe just a bit quicker than usual. Back in the room, Vincent stared blankly ahead at nothing, feeling only the grief that came from knowing that his son had slipped beyond his grasp, and that he was the one who had allowed that to happen.

* * *

Sephiroth leaned against the door of his room as it clicked shut behind him, closing his eyes tiredly and fighting back a wave of disorientation. It should be only late afternoon, but the skies had turned pitch black in anticipation of yet another onslaught of rain. The darkness only seemed to sharpen his exhaustion and his desire to throw himself down on the bed and sleep.

He let his eyes fall shut and groaned as images of all the work that needed to be done to relocate to Zhirak assaulted him. So much to be done and so little time in which to do it. He had a feeling that managing to have any period of restful, unbroken sleep would be nothing more than wishful thinking for days to come.

He sighed a bit when he heard the knock on his door, half tempted to pretend he wasn't there and be left in peace. He knew it was Zack, though, could tell by the distinctive weight and pattern of the knocking, and he'd never been able to fool his friend. With a small groan of resignation Sephiroth moved to open the door and Zack slipped inside, flicking on the small table lamp on his way to the bed. Sephiroth watched his dark-haired friend make himself comfortable before he stared up at Sephiroth with one eyebrow raised, his dark eyes gentle and questioning.

Sephiroth sighed again and sat on the floor so that his head was level with Zack's knee. He waved his hand dismissively.

"Nothing happened. He didn't even say anything to me, not really."

Zack didn't reply to that. There was nothing he could say, not really. He settled for tugging on a few strands of Sephiroth's long silvery hair and waited for his friend to speak again. He didn't have long to wait.

"I'm tired, Zack."

The brunette flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. It was hidden in shadow, the lamplight doing little to dispel the pervasive darkness. His voice was soft when he answered.

"I know. Me too."

Sephiroth turned his head slightly so that he could see Zack out of the corner of his eye. "Zack?"

The brunette's attention immediately focused entirely on Sephiroth when he heard the vulnerability in the other man's tone. Sephiroth rarely let his guard down for anyone; if he did so now it was because he was truly concerned about something, and too tired to maintain his defenses,

"Yeah?"

Sephiroth didn't answer for a long while, his face hidden by a long curtain of silvery-white. He finally reached up and pushed some of the strands out of his eyes, tilting his head back so that he could stare straight at his friend. His lips parted in preparation to say something, then he paused and shut his mouth, turning away.

Zack frowned. "Seph, you okay?"

Sephiroth nodded slowly, his eyes still downcast. "Yes. I am, it's just that sometimes…." His voice trailed off for a moment as he looked back up at Zack, his green eyes looking lost and lonely. "I miss having a father, sometimes."

"Oh, Seph…" Zack hesitated only briefly before tugging at the taller man until Sephiroth was sprawled across the bed with his head resting in Zack's lap. The brunette ran his fingers through the long strands of white silk, watching them take on a pale golden shimmer in the lamp's soft orange glow. He knew that he was the only one who ever saw Sephiroth like this; no one else was allowed to see past his antisocial façade, that mask of quiet indifference that Sepiroth had cultivated so well over the years. Sephiroth chose to keep his true self hidden from everyone except for Zack, a gesture of trust that the brunette had vowed to protect until he died. He had never been able to find the words with which to tell the white-haired man how much it really meant to him to be allowed to see the fragile and human side to Sephiroth, to be able to see him when he was unsure and ill at ease….

_And I will never betray that trust. I promise._

Zack reached out and rubbed Sephiroth's back lightly, reassuringly, letting the other man know that he was there and that he cared, that he would never leave Sephiroth with nothing but loneliness,

"We'll be happy one day, Sephiroth…."

"You believe that?" Sephiroth's voice came out muffled and indistinct against Zack's thigh and was so soft that the brunette could barely hear the words.

Zack's hand tightened into a squeeze when he answered. "Yeah. I do." He had to.

* * *

The next few days were every bit as stressful as Sephiroth had feared, with no time to do anything outside of hurrying from one place to another issuing orders and then hurrying back to make sure that they had been carried out correctly. Headquarters had become a barely controlled mob of chaotic activity, everyone rushing around frantically in the race to be gone before ShinRa arrived, screaming and yelling and arguing all the while. There were moments when the white haired man despaired of anything ever getting done when everyone seemed to be constantly in each other's way and then fighting over whom had priority, wasting valuable time while they did so. He supposed that it was a result of being used to operating in small groups rather than having to cooperate as a single large unit, but… Sephiroth cursed quietly in frustration as he saw the beginnings of yet another argument and hurried forward to resolve it.

Hopeless. Strange how the individual groups could operate so smoothly and effectively but everything went to hell once they had to combine and actually work together.

Then again, when all was said and done Vincent had trained his fighters well and held them all to some level of discipline. Maybe it wasn't exactly nothing short of a miracle that three days after the news of ShinRa's nearness had arrived the resistance was making their way out of the valley.

As one of the higher-ranking field commanders, Sephiroth was allowed to fly on one of the draxses, the large flying lizards that were native to Zhan. Rumor had it that offworlders viewed them as terrifying and repulsive, but he had always thought that they were strangely beautiful, all silvery wings and scales and deep blue eyes that glowed like sea jewels. They looked so powerful and magnificently free when they soared in the air, rising above the constraints of the earth, that Sephiroth really couldn't help but admire them. And when he was riding them, with the wind against his face and tangling in his hair… It was the best feeling in the world.

He swung gracefully up into the harness that was strapped onto the giant creature's neck just in front of the massive shoulder joints and stared ahead at Vincent, also mounted and watching as the land-based transports made their way onto the twisting path that led into the mountains proper. The older man's face looked almost ghoulish in shadows cast by the small light on his harness and Sephiroth couldn't quite suppress a small shiver of discomfort when his father looked directly at him. The man's eyes were completely invisible, hidden deep with shadowy eye sockets; it made him look inhuman….

Then Vincent's draxe was airborne and Sephiroth urged his own aloft. Knowing that no one was looking and that no one would see him let his guard down, he threw his head back and laughed. There was nothing but joy and exultation in his voice, everything else falling away in ecstasy of flight. It was wonderful, _wonderful_, to be back in the air.

He circled lazily a few times before urging the draxe down on a course directly above the back part of the resistance's train. He could see their small travel lights gleaming down below like stars. The real stars were hidden behind a thick layer of clouds heavy with rain – they would be drenched for most of the way to Zhirak. Inconvenient and it would make crossing the mountains more treacherous, but it was unavoidable.

The first drops began to fall in what the clocks indicated was early afternoon although it was only slightly brighter than midnight. Within an hour the first tentative sprinkles had turned into a downpour. The mounted commanders dropped altitude to fly close above the ground transports, squinting to make out their lights through the raindrops. Their pace had slowed to little more than a crawl as the troops made their way over the rocky path that twisted around the mountain and began to lead down toward the more gentle foothills. Between the driving rain and the darkness it was nearly impossible to determine where it was safe to move and where the path would abruptly drop off to jagged rocks waiting to impale anyone who fell on them.

It was a relief to finally reach the gently sloping foothills and be able to relax before pushing on. Sephiroth slid down from his mount's neck and stretched, muscles slightly sore from hours of hard flying, legs a bit wobbly once they were on solid ground again. He thumped his draxe affectionately and turned to scan the lamplit figures for a familiar face, absently rubbing his neck.

"Seph!"

Zack made his way through the crowd toward Sephiroth, his dark hair plastered to his cheeks by the rain. He looked exhausted and strained but still managed to summon up a smile for his friend.

"Lucky you, getting to fly instead of inching over those rocks."

Sephiroth snorted. "Don't get jealous; it's not all it's cracked up to be. I'll let you know that it's freezing up there, especially with the wind."

"Whatever." Zack unscrewed his thermos and took a long drink of the hot liquid inside before offering it to Sephiroth. The white-haired man murmured a fervent thanks and he drank, sputtering a bit as he felt the burn of alcohol beneath the strong herbal taste. He raised one eyebrow as he passed it back to Zack.

"What, too strong for you?" Zack laughed at his friend's glare and took another drink. "I'm guessing that we've got another four hour march before sleep. With any luck we'll reach Zhirak sometime tomorrow." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before continuing. "At least we're out of the mountains-"

Zack broke off when Sephiroth suddenly covered his mouth, one finger pressed to his lips in the warning for silence. Zack started, his eyes going wide as he heard the distinctive high-pitched while of approaching military airships.

"But how did they-"

The rest of Zack's sentence was spoken to the wind as Sephiroth swung back up onto his draxe and was airborne within seconds. The rest of the camp had heard ShinRa's approach as well; down below lights were swirling around frantically as fighters rushed to move to the defensive. Their shouts of alarm drifted up to him as he flew in close to the other mounted commanders. He caught a glimpse of Vincent's face, stony and expressionless as the flyers moved into position, and then –

The sound of gunfire was unmistakable, sharp and rattling over the falling rain. There were a few choked off screams from down below followed almost immediately by the soft whoosh of crossbow fire. Sephiroth winced internally. This was exactly the sort of thing they wouldn't be able to survive; they operated covertly using the stealth of bombing or sabotage and relying on hand to hand combat when they had to, but they just didn't have the strength to survive a full on attack by armed military forces –

And how had they known where they were, anyway? ShinRa shouldn't have even reached the valley for another few days….

No time to worry about it, not time to think at all. The airships were releasing rope ladders and dark-clad men were descending. The flyers moved to cut them down, firing their crossbows and throwing small circular hand bombs at the ships trying to bring them down –

But it wasn't enough, wasn't enough, the soldiers were on the ground and were shooting with cold precision, the resistance fighters unable to get close enough to engage them with in hand to hand combat or swordplay before they were felled. Sephiroth cursed and urged his draxe down. There was nothing more that could be done in the air, but down on the ground he would let the ShinRa troops test themselves against _his_ blade….

He was still some fifty feet above ground when he heard the sharp rattle of the machine guns. His mount suddenly twisted and screamed in agony, thrashing wildly as Sephiroth struggled to keep his seat. But there was another burst of fire and suddenly the draxe was falling from the sky and Sephiroth knew that he had to get off or risk being crushed….

Quick fingers undid the harness straps and Sephiroth threw himself away from the falling beast. He could feel himself falling for only a few seconds before he sensed the earth coming up to meet him and then he knew nothing at all.

* * *

Pain. That was the first thought that trickled slowly into his mind as his eyelids began to flutter open. Everything hurt; the slightest twitch of his muscles sent spasms of pain shooting through him. He wanted to just slide back into blessed unconsciousness where he didn't have to feel anything, where nothing mattered and he was at peace.

"He's coming to."

But there was no chance of that happening. He heard the movement of people as they came to stand over him, their quiet words sounding painfully loud in his ears. Frowning ever so slightly in irritation Sephiroth wrenched his eyes open only to quickly shut them against the burning electric lights they held with a groan of protest.

"Take it easy. Just open your eyes slowly…."

He tried again, staring up at their faces through half-closed lids. "What… What happened? How did ShinRa…?"

A woman moved into his field of vision; Sephiroth recognized her as one of the other field commanders. Alena. Her name was Alena. "We think that one of us turned traitor and gave ShinRa details about our position while falsifying information about theirs. It allowed ShinRa to be much closer to us than we thought they were and left us vulnerable to attack while we were on the move."

"So that scouting party who gave us the report…."

"In all likelihood it was one of them." Alena turned away, her voice harsh and bitter. "Although it no longer matters. Most of us are dead, and a large number are missing. Probably taken prisoner. The ones you see here managed to retreat before the soldiers got around to them." Her eyes regarded him with dark amusement. "When we stumbled across you, we thought _you_ were dead – and who wouldn't, after a fall like that? Then Commander Valentine noticed you were breathing."

Sephiroth sat up slowly and stared out at the small group of people illuminated outlined by the faint glow of the lamps. He saw Vincent standing off to one side, alone, and for a long moment their gazes locked. Then Vincent turned and strode silently out of the circle of light, the rigid set of his shoulders warning anyone who would think of following him that he wanted to be alone.

Sephiroth continued to look at the other survivors, a feeling of anxiety growing in his chest with each passing second. Zack. Where was Zack? He couldn't have died; he was too good a fighter to let himself be cut down by ShinRa; he just _couldn't_ be dead….

But Sephiroth didn't see him.

Fighting down a surge of alarm he made his way over to the very edges of the light circle. The bodies of the slain would be beyond it, in the darkness, cold and alone. He stared blankly ahead, trying to will himself to go and see if Zack's body was among them. He wasn't sure that he wanted to, though. He didn't know what he would do if he really did find Zack's body.

"Who are you looking for?"

Alena had followed him and was looking at him with a trace of sympathy visible in her shadowed eyes. Sephiroth barely managed to force out Zack's name, hoping that none of his internal fear had transferred itself to his voice.

He felt his knees go weak with relief when Alena shook her head, although it was short lived.

"We didn't find his body, but he isn't here. We haven't been able to establish any kind of radio contact with him. We have him down as captured by ShinRa." She fell silent for a moment, looking at him. "I'm sorry."

Something must have shown on his face because Alena looked away and moved quickly back to the others, leaving him alone on the fringes of the darkness. He felt his hand curl into a fist at his side as he fought the wave of sudden, sharp despair that crashed through him.

Zack captured by ShinRa.

Sephiroth had never felt so alone.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The first thing that Zack became aware of when consciousness returned was that he was hungry.

The brunette fighter rolled slowly onto his side, wincing a bit at the soreness of his muscles. He wasn't that surprised to feel that his wrists were handcuffed behind his back, arms wrenched into an uncomfortable position. He squirmed slightly trying to relieve the pain.

Zack wondered vaguely where he was. Some kind of prison cell, that much was obvious. But he didn't know where; he didn't know how long he'd been out of it or what had happened to the other after they'd been attacked or…or anything that was happening in the outside world. He was isolated and unaware of what was going on, and he didn't like it. Not at all.

Zack rolled onto his knees and regarded the situation as calmly as he could. His cell was small, maybe four paces long and four paces wide with perfectly smooth white walls that reflected the harsh glare of burning fluorescent lights. He could hear the soft whirring of hidden cameras as they tracked his movements and tried to ignore the decidedly uncomfortable feeling that he was being examined by some sort of giant, critical eye. He leaned cautiously against the wall and jerked back immediately with a short cry of surprise, almost falling over as he lost his balance. He had felt a definite shock of electricity when he touched the wall, not enough to hurt, exactly, but strong enough to warn him against trying that again.

If only he knew where he was. He had to still be on Zhan; there was no way he would have been taken off-planet. But he was in one of the smaller rural bases or had he been taken to one of the cities…?

There was a sharp rush of air and Zack started as a section of the wall suddenly moved aside to reveal two figures staring at him with blank, expressionless eyes. One was dressed in the pristinely white lab coat and spectacles of a medical personnel; the other wore the uniform of the ShinRa military. Zack felt an icy shiver run down his spine as they moved toward him and fought the urge to back away.

"This will be much easier for all of us if you'll just cooperate." The medic's voice was calm and almost hypnotic as his fingers gently caressed the syringe he was holding, dark eyes staring intently at Zack. This time the brunette really did start to edge away from the pair, his eyes flicking back and forth from the medic to the soldier.

"We don't want to hurt you… We only want you tell us a few things."

"Fuck you, ShinRa!"

"We don't want to hurt you." They were moving forward, closing in on him. Zack's back made contact with the cell wall and he bit back a curse as he felt the electricity jolt through him. He began to slide down to the floor.

"We just want to talk to you."

"Stay away from me!" Zack drew his knees up to his chest and prepared to lash out. He wouldn't tell them _anything_, these ShinRa bastards; he wouldn't ever betray the resistance. He'd die first.

The first kick connected solidly with the medic's knee and he was up and rushing toward the doorway. But there was still that soldier blocking has path and the brunette couldn't use his hands…. He threw himself desperately against the other man trying to use his own body mass to knock the other off balance, but this was a soldier trained in the ShinRa military and he couldn't fight back when a fist came up to strike him solidly in the abdomen. Zack reeled as all of the air was forced out of his lungs and he sank down to his knees.

In the midst of a haze of disorientation he felt a needle prick his arm followed by the slight pressure of liquid being forced into his veins. He twitched feebly in protest but there was nothing he could do. He felt like his muscles were turning into liquid; he was so weak that he couldn't even resist when the soldier grabbed his arms and dragged him upright. He stumbled as he was dragged out of the cell and down a long corridor lit with more of the same harsh white lights, their footsteps echoing hollowly against the walls.

It took an effort to force his voice past his lips. "Where are we going?"

There was no response. They continued to pass through corridor after corridor, turning so many corners that it made Zack's head spin. It felt like hours until he was shoved roughly into what looked like some kind of briefing room. He staggered and fell to his knees, fighting back a wave of nausea. What had they injected him with…?

He blinked as a pair of black boots stopped just in front of his nose, lifted his gaze until he was staring directly into a pair of cold gray eyes. Thin lips twisted into a smirk as their eyes locked. Never looking away the man turned his head ever so slightly to address someone out of Zack's line of vision.

"This is the one?"

"That's him." Zack's head whipped around at the sound of that voice and felt a surge of confusion run through him as he saw the man it belonged to. He'd seen him so many times back in that secluded valley where the resistance had been hiding; he'd been one of the scouts who had done reconnaissance for them. He'd talked to him just a few days ago, when he had given them the report about ShinRa's location in the mountains….

_Oh._

Zack understood everything in a second, understood that they had been betrayed by one of their own, that this man had willingly sold them to ShinRa and from the look on his face didn't regret it one bit. In that second Zack felt a powerful rush of hatred spread through his veins, stronger than any emotion he had felt before. He wanted to hurt this man, kill him even, have vengeance for the wrong he had done to Zack and so many others.

"Traitor!"

Struggling against whatever drug he had been injected with Zack lurched to his feet and faltered toward the other man, _the traitor_, his vision clouding over with red.

"Fucking _traitor_, I'll fucking _kill_ you…."

Something crashed into the back of his head and Zack fell painfully onto his side, a wave of nausea crashing through him. He felt weak, so weak as his breath came in short, labored pants and he struggled against the urge to vomit. Someone grabbed him by the back of the neck and hauled him upright, shaking him roughly.

"Don't think of trying to pull anything like that again, you hear me?"

Zack could only force one word out of his throat; his voice rough and strained. "Why?"

The traitor – somewhere in the back of his mind Zack realized that he had never known the man's name – answered him after a long pause.

"Because the resistance is doomed to fail. It's a pointless struggle."

Zack's head jerked up, his eyes full of pain. Their gazes locked.

"It's pointless. No matter how hard you fight, you'll never be a match for ShinRa's power. Face it – Zhan is part of the Empire now, and there's nothing a group of rebels hiding out in the mountains can do to change that." He shrugged, dismissing everything that Zack had spent years believing in and fighting for with a single careless gesture. "It's better to accept that and get on with your life rather than get killed in something as pointless as what you people are doing."

_Pointless…._

Zack's voice was little more than an anguished whisper. "Doesn't the freedom of your world mean anything to you? Don't you care that we're being crushed, that our people are being enslaved and oppressed? And don't you care that you betrayed the only people left who are fighting against that?"

The man shrugged again, his lips twisting up in a humorless smile. "Not really, no." His voice was cold and careless. "I have my own life to think about."

"Which is very wise of him." Zack had almost forgotten about the other man, the man with the black boots. He had watched Zack's reaction to the traitor with an amused expression, clearly enjoying himself. He smiled at the captive brunette and Zack shivered at the sight.

"He's right, you know. Your pathetic group doesn't stand a chance against ShinRa. So why don't you make this easy on yourself." He began to pace, his boots clicking against the floor with every step.

"Just tell us what we want to know."

Zack smiled sadly and he could feel the beginning of tears prick at the back of his eyes. "You think I'm like him? I won't… I won't betray what I believe in. I won't betray my friends. And I won't betray Zhan."

Not ever. Do want you want with me, but I will never betray what I have devoted my life to fighting for.

Zack could hear the sneer in the man's voice when he spoke. "How… admirable. But also very foolish of you." He turned to address the medic and the soldier, almost forgotten by Zack. "You may begin."

They closed in on him and Zack wanted to fight back, get away, but he was so weak and his muscles wouldn't obey him. He could struggle feebly as they grabbed him and he felt another prick on his arm…

…And after that he didn't really know anything at all, only that it felt like liquid fire was running through his veins instead of blood. His nerves felt liked they were being scraped raw. It was a relief to start screaming, anything to alleviate the pain, but it only grew and grew until it was like nothing Zack had ever known before or even _imagined_…

The captain watched with a hint of a smile on his face.

* * *

Tiras, the governor of Zhan stood at rigid attention while he waited for the communication link to be patched through to Midgar. He could feel a thin trickle of sweat snaking down his back and swallowed nervously. No matter how many times he was required to appear before the most powerful man alive, the ruler of the ShinRa Empire, it was something he could never get used to and something he always dreaded. Every meeting left him sweating and full of sickening nervousness even though they took place through the filter of vidscreens. He supposed if he ever had to meet with the Emperor in person, face to face, he would be able to do nothing but cower, overawed by the presence of true power and feeling how pathetic he really was, stuck on this backwater planet where even the sun refused to shine.

The screen flicked to life, and Tiras fell to his knees with his head bowed, trying to appear outwardly composed. He could manage at least that much.

He still couldn't quite suppress a shudder when the Emperor spoke. The man whose visage showed on the screen was soft spoken, his voice so quiet that most men had to strain to hear his words. However, it carried an unmistakable note of command within its timber, demanding immediate unquestioning obedience from all who heard it.

"Stand up. When I want you to waste my time with pointless ceremonies I will be sure to notify you."

Tiras rose to his feet as quickly as he could without stumbling over his own feet although he couldn't bring himself to lift his eyes. He kept his gaze lowered, respectful and submissive as he hurried with his reply.

"Of course, of course, please accept my apologies…."

He was cut off when the Emperor spoke again. "Is the situation on Zhan under control? This group of resistance fighters, has it been taken care of?"

The governor swallowed convulsively and felt a wave of apprehension begin to flood his body. "We have… We have made significant progress. We were able to immobilize a significant number of their force and managed to take one of the higher ranking members of the organization into our custody…."

"But they're still in existence? Still capable of taking action against ShinRa's presence?"

Tiras bowed deeply in a desperate attempt to keep his composure, forcing his voice to form words that he hoped were somehow explanatory, conciliatory.

"Your Majesty, I assure you that we will be able to eliminate them in the very near future. We have taken prisoners and it is only a matter of time before they talk and tell us where the rest of the organization is located. Then the ShinRa forces will be able to intercept them and…"

He trailed off and chanced a glance at the screen. The Emperor was watching him with a faint smile twitching across his lips. It was as sinister an expression as anything the governor had ever seen and any words he might have said died on his lips.

"I am amazed at how skilled a group of rebel fighters are at evading the most powerful military force in existence."

The governor flinched.

"I am not going to tolerate this for much longer. Project Gethema must proceed on schedule and with no interferences. If I feel that you are not able to ensure that the Project will be implemented as planned you will have to be…removed."

Tiras's throat went dry and he could barely form a response. "I understand, Your Majesty."

"Then I expect to hear something more favorable when I am next in contact with you." And with those words the screen went dead, leaving Tiras alone with nothing but the cold feeling of dread lying heavily in his stomach.

* * *

Rufus ShinRa sneered in irritation as the communication ended, stalking out onto the wide balcony to stare down at the city of Midgar. The Plate glittered with the brilliant glow of electric lights shining through the velvet darkness of night but the lower level was hidden from his sight. It gave most of the members of society's upper echelons to feel removed from the struggles and suffering of the lower classes, but Rufus knew better than to let himself be lulled into a false sense of security. There was power in the people who lived beneath the Plate. If they ever mobilized, came together with the intention of taking what the rich and powerful had denied them for so long –

Not that that would ever happen. They would never have the chance to even begin to realize their potential. His father had told him that the key to remaining in power lay was in the ruler's ability to keep absolute control, and it was a lesson that Rufus had taken to heart. When he had ascended the throne of the Emperor five years ago he had sworn to himself that the power of House ShinRa would not be broken while he lived. The ShinRa bloodline had held dominance over most of the known inhabited worlds for centuries; Rufus was determined to expand their influence even further so that his family's name was spoken with awe and fear all across the galaxy.

He turned his head and spoke, just loudly enough to catch the attention of the figure lurking just out of his sight. "Well?"

Someone stirred in the deep shadows that could never quite be swept away from the vast room's corners and Rufus saw the flash of eyes glowing a preternatural blue. A moment later and their owner stood next to him on the balcony, a man who was slim and slight but whose effortlessly graceful movements and developed muscle structure hinted that he was a force to be reckoned with. And then there were those eyes, burning with a fire that was by no means normal, blazing with an intensity that outshone even those of the SOLDIERs. There were few who could meet that gaze without flinching, and Rufus had always taken a hidden pride in being one of them.

He met those eyes now, raising one of his own eyebrows in inquiry. Cloud uttered a short disdainful noise as he turned to stare out over Midgar as well, the wind gently ruffling blonde spikes of hair.

"The man is incompetent. You shouldn't wait to get rid of him."

Rufus smiled thinly. "Do you want to take care of it?"

"Why?" There was a note of thinly veiled scorn in the blonde's voice. "Why should the Guards waste their time on something as trivial as that? The Turks are more than capable of carrying out a simple assassination job for you."

Rufus shrugged. "The Turks have their hands full here on Gaia; I can't send them off-world. Since the situation on Arhem has stabilized there is really nothing urgent for you to attend to and," he smirked at the blonde, "it wouldn't do for you to become bored being trapped in Midgar."

Cloud stared at the Emperor impassively, waiting for Rufus to continue.

"And besides that…" Rufus hesitated for a moment before going on. "And besides that, Gethema is… important. More than anything else, Gethema is crucial to maintaining ShinRa's power. I need someone to go to Zhan, someone I know that I can trust to make sure that everything is in readiness. And there is no one I trust more than you."

The blonde was silent, his gaze turned inward as he thought over the Emperor's words.

Rufus looked back out over the glittering cityscape and let a faint smile play across his lips. He had little doubt that Cloud Strife would be willing to go to Zhan; the man hated being confined in Midgar. Strife would be able to ensure that Tiras's… removal… would be done discreetly and efficiently, and even more importantly….

There was something intriguing about this group of Zhan rebels. They shouldn't have been able to persist for this long; by all rights ShinRa forces should have crushed them years ago. And yet the fact was that there they were, hidden somewhere in the rough terrain of Zhan that had never been settled, striking whenever they could only to vanish. It bothered him. None of the other conquered worlds had been able to maintain any sort of resistance, no matter how small, for anywhere near as long as Zhan had. And why on Zhan, of all places? The planet was by all accounts little more than a wasteland where not even the light of some sun would shine. One would think that living in such a place would have deadened the spirit of those who called it home centuries ago rather than foster some kind of rebellion.

True, the major cities had fallen without too much protest and had since been quiet, but even so there was something about it that bothered him, and he couldn't quite figure out _why._

It's just another conquered world. So what if there's some group of fighters hiding in the mountains. They haven't been able to inflict any real damage to ShinRa yet, and chances are they never will.

But still….

His musings were cut short when Cloud spoke, his voice low and expressionless.

"I want to visit the Temple."

Rufus raised one immaculate eyebrow, not bothering to hide his surprise. "You want to go there? Why?"

Cloud shrugged slightly and remained silent. Rufus uttered a soft exclamation under his breath and waved one hand in dismissal. The blonde had never felt the need to explain himself to Rufus, Emperor or no, and Rufus had enough respect for the commander of the Black Guards that he never pressed for explanations.

"You know perfectly well that you don't require my permission. Just whatever you do, give me your answer soon."

The blonde bowed briefly and moved gracefully away, leaving Rufus alone on the balcony. The Emperor of ShinRa tilted his head toward the sky and stared up at the night. The light pollution from Midgar made it impossible to see the stars, but Rufus could remember going to the ShinRa villas located far away from the industrial chaos of the capital when he was a child. His father had shown him the stars then, pointing up at the distant sparkles of light set against a velvet black sky.

That will be yours one day. This is your birthright as a son of the ShinRa bloodline: an empire that encompasses all the stars in the sky.

Now his father's words had come true and Rufus stood at the helm of the greatest Empire that had existed in thousands of years. But he did not rest easy in his power. The fear that it could be wrested from him, that had could be cast down from the heights to which he had been born was always lurking in the back of his mind, keeping him awake at night and haunting his steps by day.

But remember this, my son: once you acquire the power that comes with being Emperor you will never have true peace of mind again. You will be the most powerful man alive, but always remember that you are also the most feared and the most hated. You will have enemies, my son, and you will always have to be watching for them.

His father's prediction had come true almost immediately his coronation. The capital planet of Gaia was a bed of constant political maneuvering, intrigue, and backstabbing and once power shifted from Rufus's father to Rufus himself all of the higher ranking officials had immediately set out to ingratiate themselves. Rufus hadn't been taken in by their shows of loyalty and obedience, however – he knew that most of those flattering courtiers were only interested in gaining more power for their own families. He also knew that there were some who were even more ambitious, who wanted to remove House ShinRa from power and rule the Empire themselves.

I cannot, I **will not** let that happen.

But Rufus could not shake the feeling of unease in his chest as he stared out over Midgar.

* * *

The rising sun was just beginning to color the eastern horizon with streaks of soft rose and pale gold when Cloud arrived at the Temple. He paused for a moment to simply look at the massive structure, feeling the sharp surge of awe that always took him whenever he visited this place. The Temple was truly impressive, erected centuries ago just after the first of the ShinRa rulers had conquered Gaia and secured the position of Emperor for his bloodline. As such it was considered the holiest place on Gaia, and very few people were allowed the privilege of visiting it whenever they so desired.

As the most powerful member of the Black Guards Cloud was one of those few, but he rarely made the journey to the Temple. As far as he could tell not even Rufus ShinRa came here unless his presence was required for official ceremonies or rituals. For all that it was a beautiful place, carved entirely out of black marble, there was also something terrible about it, something sinister and dark….

Cloud had always been able to sense something lurking deep inside him ever since he was a child, some alien presence that lay dormant in his mind. Sometimes he could even hear it whispering, putting ideas into his head that he felt he wouldn't have come up with on his own, telling him how to defeat ShinRa's enemies, how to strike terror into their hearts and crush their spirits. There were moments when he didn't even really feel like himself, when he felt that he was just a vessel for some other awesome power of destruction that would rise up and take control, subvert his will so that he would do whatever it wanted to. It was terrifying to feel his control fall away like that, but the power that came with it was like nothing else and something in Cloud was always eager to feel that rush….

He shivered slightly and moved forward into the Temple proper.

The corridors were almost completely empty, the soft glow of muted mako lamps gleaming off the black marble walls and sending strange shadows scurrying ahead of Cloud. The only other people he saw were the priestesses who lived within the Temple's walls. They nodded only slightly to him as he passed by, their features hidden by the deep folds of their hidden cloaks. Cloud always felt the faintest shiver of unease run through him when he saw them. They were so silent, so withdrawn that they almost didn't seem human anymore. They were more like the living ghosts of the Temple who had always been there and would never leave, eternal wraiths that were neither alive nor dead.

He went deeper into the Temple.

The air became cold and clammy against his skin as he approached the entrance to the Inner Sanctuary, where Jenova was.

Jenova, ShinRa's goddess who had descended to Gaia at the beginning of their empire and who the imperial family claimed had given them the right to rule.

The blonde-haired man knelt and bowed his head deeply in respect before the carved bust that represented Jenova, closing his eyes and hardly breathing, forcing himself to remain perfectly still. He could feel the familiar brush against his mind as Jenova reached out to him and waited to hear what she would tell him.

Cloud remained there, motionless, for a long time before he stood up to leave.

* * *

Zack was gone.

That was the only thought echoing through Sephiroth's mind as he moved mechanically through the camp shouting orders, trying to bring the survivors into some semblance of order. They needed to push on toward Zhirak, and quickly – ShinRa was held at bay for the moment, but if they had tracked them this far more troops couldn't be far off.

ShinRa probably knew where they were heading as well, but there was really nothing they could do about that. They couldn't return to the valley anymore and they couldn't stay here; the only option was to continue pushing forward until they reached level ground. At least they'd be able to mount some kind of defense once they made it that far.

Sephiroth could hear Vincent's voice above the steady drizzling of the rain, but he wasn't really understanding the words; all he knew was that Zack was gone, taken prisoner, probably to be executed in some cold soulless cell and no one would ever know….

"Sephiroth."

The silver-haired man blinked and forced his mind back to the here and now. Vincent was looking at him coolly, his expression unreadable.

"Sephiroth, could I have a word."

Sephiroth nodded mechanically and followed his commander to a more secluded part of their makeshift camp. Their faces were barely visible in the darkness of Zhan's ever-present night as they faced each other. Vincent leaned in close so that they were almost touching, but even then his voice was barely loud to be heard over the sound of the wind.

"Zack's been captured by the ShinRa."

Sephiroth nodded silently, his eyes never moving away from Vincent's face, his stomach twisting in apprehension at the thought of what his father's next words would be.

"He possesses information about us that we cannot, under any circumstances, allow ShinRa to discover. It's too dangerous to simply let them take him."

The feeling in Sephiroth's stomach intensified.

"We are almost certain that he has been taken to Maruth to be interrogated there. We cannot, cannot let him tell them anything," Vincent's dark eyes narrowed as they stared into Sephiroth's green ones. "Do you understand?"

The silver-haired man hesitated for a long moment before bowing his head, long strands of white falling forward to hide his face. "Yes."

Vincent sighed and laid his hand on Sephiroth's arm. "If there's any way to get him out alive, do so, but if not…" He didn't need to finish the sentence.

"I understand. I understand perfectly."

Vincent nodded and moved silently away.

Sephiroth watched him go, then raised one hand to his cheeks and wondered if the wetness he found there was rain or his own angry tears.


End file.
